Studying Revealed Texts vs. Cultural Traditions

 كُلُّ ٱلطَّعَامِ ڪَانَ حِلاًّ۬ لِّبَنِىٓ إِسۡرَٲٓءِيلَ إِلَّا مَا حَرَّمَ إِسۡرَٲٓءِيلُ عَلَىٰ نَفۡسِهِۦ مِن قَبۡلِ أَن تُنَزَّلَ ٱلتَّوۡرَٮٰةُ‌ۗ قُلۡ فَأۡتُواْ بِٱلتَّوۡرَٮٰةِ فَٱتۡلُوهَآ إِن كُنتُمۡ صَـٰدِقِينَ 

All food was lawful to the Children of Israel except what Israel had made unlawful to himself before the Torah was revealed. Say, [O Muhammad], "So bring the Torah and recite it, if you should be truthful." (Qur'an, 3:93)

كُلُّ ٱلطَّعَامِ ڪَانَ حِلاًّ۬ لِّبَنِىٓ إِسۡرَٲٓءِيلَ All sorts of foods were made halal (permissible) for the Bani Israel (Israelites).  Sadly, instead of getting halal and haram (unlawful) rulings from divinely revealed texts, they fervently followed their local customs and cultural traditions. It was rumoured in their society that Yaqub (a.s) did not eat camel meat so they made camel meat haram on themselves.

 إِلَّا  مَا حَرَّمَ إِسۡرَٲٓءِيلُ عَلَىٰ نَفۡسِهِۦ Certain foods are lawful from a religious point of view however, they are unsafe for consumption for certain people. For example, all tree nuts are halal in the religious sense but definitely harmful and therefore, haram for people with fatal nut allergies. Therefore, Yaqub (a.s) may have avoided camel meat for the sake of his personal health.

When people loose touch with revealed texts and the study of these sacred texts deteriorates within a community,  religious practices become skewed with local customs and traditions. Allah relayed His message to the Bani Israel accurately, in their language and in a manner that they could understand. Instead of interpreting Allah's message properly to determine its intended meaning, they forced their cultural ideas and myths into the text.
In this postmodern age, bizarre interpretations of the Qur'an are accepted because people believe they have the right to decide for themselves, using their distinct heritage and emotional baggage - what a passage of the Qur'an means. In other words, meaning of the Qur'an is in the eye of the beholder, so everyone can decide the truth for themselves based on their individual likes and dislikes.

When it comes to religious practices, the general psychology of Muslims is very similar to the ancient Bani Israel. We  do not study the revealed texts and invent religious practices based on the actions of seemingly religious people. For example, we chant a certain adkhaar, a particular number of times on specific days because our great grand-parents worshiped Allah in this manner. We accept the habits and mores of our elders as religious verdicts. Overtime, imitating their conventions becomes righteousness and going against their customs becomes the ultimate form of deviation. Of course Allah speaks against this mob-mentality. Islam came to free us from the slavery of humankind -  to free us from the pressures and influences of our peers in adopting certain philosophies and behaviours.

And when it is said to them, "Follow what Allah has revealed," they say, "Rather, we will follow that which we found our fathers doing." Even though their fathers understood nothing, nor were they guided? (Qur'an, 2:170)

It may seem rather obvious, but this verse offers a principle which is often overlooked. We must carefully study and follow what Allah has revealed - what the Qur'an actually states rather than what our forefathers said.  Most of our forefathers did not precisely receive a formal education in the Qur'an; their actions often veered away from the meaning that Allah intended in His verses. It is therefore, futile to follow them.  There would be no point in sending down revelation if we are simply going to take what our forefathers wanted to discern from the passages rather than what Allah intends.

We must battle against our pride, which tempts us to think that the views of our elders are always right or that the beliefs of a particular Imaam and school of thought are necessarily correct. We must strive to study the Qur'an daily to make sure we submit to Allah in a manner that He revealed. We must determine Allah's intended meaning in the Qur'an rather than force our own feelings into the verses.

Failure to carefully study the Qur'an has resulted in numerous misconceptions about Islam. For example, our forefathers hold Hawa (a.s) responsible for the fall of Adam (a.s). As a result, they believe all women are disobedient, guileless, weak-willed, disloyal, deceitful and evil. However, in the Qur'an, Allah says, 'they were both caused to slip by Shaytan. They were both equally responsible and equally guilty. They both were expelled together from Paradise.' (2:36)

 فَأۡتُواْ بِٱلتَّوۡرَٮٰةِ فَٱتۡلُوهَآ Carefully observing the revealed text can protect us from making similar common mistakes as discussed previously. A formal education in the revealed text will weed out the superstitions and biases we have adopted as religious practices.

إِن كُنتُمۡ صَـٰدِقِينَ If we genuinely wish to learn what Allah intends for us - if we are truthful in our faith in Allah then we must set aside our respect and love for our elders, including our cultural whims and emotions. We must accurately study the Qur'an for ourselves so that we can know Allah better, know with clear proofs and references - what He expects from us and know how we can live in a way that pleases Him.